“The world and everything in it is unplanned accident, existence is meaningless; the past is irrelevant; nothing matters"
What is the truth? Is the world and everything in it an unplanned accident? Is existence meaningless? Is the past irrelevant? Does anything matter? (the position of the Dragon and possibly Grendel)
1. The world is not an unplanned accident.
2. Existence is not meaningless.
3. The past (history) is important.
4. Everything (including personal behavior) does matter.
OUTLINE
Major Arguments
1. Guilty, she imagines, of some unremembered, perhaps ancestral crime (page 11)
- This proves that the past is important. Because of the crime that occurred in the past, Grendel's mother lived her whole life, guilty of the crime that her ancestor, Cain, committed. She even stopped talking due to her guilt.
2. He told of an ancient feud between two brothers which split all the world between darkness and light. And I, Grendel, was the dark side, he said in effect. The terrible race God cursed. (page 51)
- This quote relates to the first one. By listening to Shaper's songs, Grendel finds out and believes that he is the dark side. Like his mother, Grendel gets guilty of an ancestral crime. That leads him to struggle and makes him to go into the mead hall. This proves that the past is relevant.
3."I knew him when!" But I couldn't bring out a wicked cackle as I'd meant to do. My heart was light with Hrothgar's goodness, and leaden with grief at my own bloodthirsty ways (page 48)
- This is Grendel talking after seeing Hrothgar doing "good" things. Grendel, in the past, has done a lot of bad things. It says, "My heart was light with Hrothgar's goodness." After watching what Hrothgar is doing, he gets a chance to compare himself and Hrothgar, and realizes doing bad things makes him feel bad and doing good things like Hrothgar will make him feel good. This quote proves past is important and everything does matter. Every personal behavior and the past matters, because depending on what you do, later, you will feel happy or guilty.
4."He is the eternal urge of desire establishing the purposes of all creatures." (page 132)
- Ork says that the King of Gods established everything with purpose. He is proving that the world and everything in it is planned. He is saying all creatures are thoroughly planned by the King of Gods when they are created.
5. " Ultimate wisdom, I have come to perceive, lies in the perception that the solemnity and grandeur of the universe rise through the slow process of unification in which the diversities of existence are utilized, and nothing, nothing is lost." (page 133)
- In the previous quote, he said that the King of Gods planned everything. Here, he is saying everything created with purpose is utilized. He says that there is nothing that is just lost. Every existence fulfills its purpose before being just lost. This proves that existence is not meaningless, and has a purpose.
I am going to say the opening statement and question Wealtheow
STATEMENT
I am going to prove that the world is not an unplanned accident, existence is not meaningless, the past is important, and everything does matter. Firstly, the world and everything in it is planned. The Dragon says that the world is a meaningless swirl in the stream of time. However, there is a quote in Grendel that disproves this. Ork said, "He is the eternal urge of desire establishing the purposes of all creatures." (pg. 132) This tells us that the King of Gods planned everything before establishing any creatures or objects. Therefore, everything in the world has a purpose and every even that happens in this world is planned. Secondly, existence is not meaningless. In Grendel, Ork said "Ultimate wisdom, I have come to perceive, lies in the perception that the solemnity and grandeur of the universe rise through the slow process of unification in which the diversities of existence are utilized, and nothing, nothing is lost" (pg. 133) Everything in this world has a purpose, so everything is utilized to make this world evolve. Therefore, everyone's existence is important and has a meaning. Wealtheow lived to keep peace and the war did not start due to her existence, the Shaper lived to provide illusions to people and people believed in those illusions due to his existence, Hrothgar lived to rule his kingdom and his kingdom prospered due to his existence, and Beowulf lived to become a hero and many evil creatures died due to his existence. The existence of each individual is essential to the continuous development of the world. Thirdly, the past is relevant. The past sets up the future. According to what you did in the past, you can either be ashamed of yourself or be satisfied with yourself. For example, Grendel's mother was ashamed of her ancestral crime committed by Cain. "Guilty, she imagines, of some unremembered, perhaps ancestral crime" (pg. 11) Because of this, Grendel's mother couldn't talk. Grendel was also ashamed of the same thing. " He told of an ancient feud between two brothers which split all the world between darkness and light. And I, Grendel, was the dark side, he said in effect. The terrible race God cursed." (pg. 51) After finding out this, Grendel really started struggling to know why he exists in this world. Then, his first unintended attack of the mead hall occurs. Lastly, everything does matter. Everything in the world works together to make the world evolve. Therefore, every single behavior counts and even might change one's destiny. " ' I knew him when!' But I couldn't bring out a wicket cackle as I'd meant to do. My heart was light with Hrothgar's goodness, and leaden with grief at my own bloodthirsty ways." (pg. 48) This is in Grendel's point of view. He sees Hrothgar's behaviors, which are good, that contrast with his behaviors, which are bad. Grendel then realizes doing bad things makes him feel bad and doing good things like Hrothgar will make him feel good. This quote shows that every personal behavior matters, because depending on what you do, later, you will feel happy or guilty.
LETTER REFLECTION
By reading John Gardener's letter, I was able to experience John Gardener's point of view on Beowulf and Grendel. John Gardener's interpretation of the plot and some characters were very interesting. He thinks of things that people normally don't think of and refuses to accept obvious interpretations. For example, he doesn't think Beowulf is optimistic, which is an interpretation that many of us made. By reading his interpretations, we can find out that he is a deep thinker. In the letter, Gardener gives us a tip that shows how to become a deep thinker with good interpretations. He says that people must not think like kids. He says, " But the point is this: You've read, all of you, too quickly, too innocently--too much like children."
In this letter, I could see John Gardener's confidence. Even though everyone has a different interpretation, he confidentially presented his interpretation that he believed to be true. I have learned that I also should present my idea confidentially in the trial and not be afraid of being wrong. Also, I learned that I should think deeper before the day of the trial to be fully ready and not be like a "child."
TRIAL PREPARATION
Wealtheow
- Please introduce yourself
(introduce yourself and talk about your origin)
- Why did you leave your nation and marry Hrothgar?
(planned)
- Do you think that this action was worth taking?
(existence)
- So, you think everything matters?
- Don't you still miss your people?
(say that you are still bonded with them or something - past is relevant)
- What is your belief on this statement: "The world and everything in it is unplanned accident, existence is meaningless; the past is irrelevant; nothing matters."?
(say you don't agree and blah blah)
- Why do you think so?
(sum up everything)
Opening Statement- We've all gathered here to decide if the statement "The world and everything in it is unplanned accident, existence is meaningless; the past is irrelevant; nothing matters." is reasonable. Our team believes that this statement should be disproved. We believe that the world is not an unplanned accident, existence is not meaningless, the past is important, and everything does matter.
Firstly, we believe that the world and everything in it is planned. The Dragon says that the world is a meaningless swirl in the stream of time. However, there is a quote in Grendel that disproves this. When Grendel requests Ork to explain who the King of the Gods is, Ork said, "He is the eternal urge of desire establishing the purposes of all creatures." (pg. 132) This tells us that the King of Gods planned everything before establishing any creatures or objects. Therefore, everything in the world has a purpose and every even that happens in this world is planned.
Secondly, existence is not meaningless. In Grendel, Ork said "Ultimate wisdom, I have come to perceive, lies in the perception that the solemnity and grandeur of the universe rise through the slow process of unification in which the diversities of existence are utilized, and nothing, nothing is lost" (pg. 133) Everything in this world has a purpose, so everything is utilized to make this world evolve. Therefore, everyone's existence is important and has a meaning. Wealtheow lived to keep peace and the war did not start due to her existence, the Shaper lived to provide illusions to people and people believed in those illusions due to his existence, and Beowulf lived to become a hero and many evil creatures died due to his existence. The existence of each individual is essential to the continuous development of the world.
Thirdly, the past is relevant. The past sets up the future. According to what you did in the past, you can either be ashamed of yourself or be satisfied with yourself. For example, Grendel's mother was ashamed of her ancestral crime committed by Cain. "Guilty, she imagines, of some unremembered, perhaps ancestral crime" (pg. 11) Because of this, Grendel's mother couldn't talk. Grendel was also ashamed of the same thing. " He told of an ancient feud between two brothers which split all the world between darkness and light. And I, Grendel, was the dark side, he said in effect. The terrible race God cursed." (pg. 51) After finding out this, Grendel really started struggling to know why he exists in this world. Then, his first unintended attack of the mead hall occurs.
Lastly, everything does matter. Everything in the world works together to make the world evolve. Therefore, every single behavior counts and even might change one's destiny. " ' I knew him when!' But I couldn't bring out a wicket cackle as I'd meant to do. My heart was light with Hrothgar's goodness, and leaden with grief at my own bloodthirsty ways." (pg. 48) This is in Grendel's point of view. He sees Hrothgar's behaviors, which are good, that contrast with his behaviors, which are bad. Grendel then realizes doing bad things makes him feel bad and doing good things like Hrothgar will make him feel good. This quote shows that every personal behavior matters, because depending on what you do, later, you will feel happy or guilty.
With these proofs to support our ideas, I think it is reasonable for our team to suggest disproving the statement that is being judged.
Hannah Choi
POSITION 2: DISPROVE
“The world and everything in it is unplanned accident, existence is meaningless; the past is irrelevant; nothing matters"
What is the truth? Is the world and everything in it an unplanned accident? Is existence meaningless? Is the past irrelevant? Does anything matter? (the position of the Dragon and possibly Grendel)
1. The world is not an unplanned accident.
2. Existence is not meaningless.
3. The past (history) is important.
4. Everything (including personal behavior) does matter.
OUTLINE
Major Arguments
1. Guilty, she imagines, of some unremembered, perhaps ancestral crime (page 11)
- This proves that the past is important. Because of the crime that occurred in the past, Grendel's mother lived her whole life, guilty of the crime that her ancestor, Cain, committed. She even stopped talking due to her guilt.
2. He told of an ancient feud between two brothers which split all the world between darkness and light. And I, Grendel, was the dark side, he said in effect. The terrible race God cursed. (page 51)
- This quote relates to the first one. By listening to Shaper's songs, Grendel finds out and believes that he is the dark side. Like his mother, Grendel gets guilty of an ancestral crime. That leads him to struggle and makes him to go into the mead hall. This proves that the past is relevant.
3."I knew him when!" But I couldn't bring out a wicked cackle as I'd meant to do. My heart was light with Hrothgar's goodness, and leaden with grief at my own bloodthirsty ways (page 48)
- This is Grendel talking after seeing Hrothgar doing "good" things. Grendel, in the past, has done a lot of bad things. It says, "My heart was light with Hrothgar's goodness." After watching what Hrothgar is doing, he gets a chance to compare himself and Hrothgar, and realizes doing bad things makes him feel bad and doing good things like Hrothgar will make him feel good. This quote proves past is important and everything does matter. Every personal behavior and the past matters, because depending on what you do, later, you will feel happy or guilty.
4."He is the eternal urge of desire establishing the purposes of all creatures." (page 132)
- Ork says that the King of Gods established everything with purpose. He is proving that the world and everything in it is planned. He is saying all creatures are thoroughly planned by the King of Gods when they are created.
5. " Ultimate wisdom, I have come to perceive, lies in the perception that the solemnity and grandeur of the universe rise through the slow process of unification in which the diversities of existence are utilized, and nothing, nothing is lost." (page 133)
- In the previous quote, he said that the King of Gods planned everything. Here, he is saying everything created with purpose is utilized. He says that there is nothing that is just lost. Every existence fulfills its purpose before being just lost. This proves that existence is not meaningless, and has a purpose.
I am going to say the opening statement and question Wealtheow
STATEMENT
I am going to prove that the world is not an unplanned accident, existence is not meaningless, the past is important, and everything does matter. Firstly, the world and everything in it is planned. The Dragon says that the world is a meaningless swirl in the stream of time. However, there is a quote in Grendel that disproves this. Ork said, "He is the eternal urge of desire establishing the purposes of all creatures." (pg. 132) This tells us that the King of Gods planned everything before establishing any creatures or objects. Therefore, everything in the world has a purpose and every even that happens in this world is planned. Secondly, existence is not meaningless. In Grendel, Ork said "Ultimate wisdom, I have come to perceive, lies in the perception that the solemnity and grandeur of the universe rise through the slow process of unification in which the diversities of existence are utilized, and nothing, nothing is lost" (pg. 133) Everything in this world has a purpose, so everything is utilized to make this world evolve. Therefore, everyone's existence is important and has a meaning. Wealtheow lived to keep peace and the war did not start due to her existence, the Shaper lived to provide illusions to people and people believed in those illusions due to his existence, Hrothgar lived to rule his kingdom and his kingdom prospered due to his existence, and Beowulf lived to become a hero and many evil creatures died due to his existence. The existence of each individual is essential to the continuous development of the world. Thirdly, the past is relevant. The past sets up the future. According to what you did in the past, you can either be ashamed of yourself or be satisfied with yourself. For example, Grendel's mother was ashamed of her ancestral crime committed by Cain. "Guilty, she imagines, of some unremembered, perhaps ancestral crime" (pg. 11) Because of this, Grendel's mother couldn't talk. Grendel was also ashamed of the same thing. " He told of an ancient feud between two brothers which split all the world between darkness and light. And I, Grendel, was the dark side, he said in effect. The terrible race God cursed." (pg. 51) After finding out this, Grendel really started struggling to know why he exists in this world. Then, his first unintended attack of the mead hall occurs. Lastly, everything does matter. Everything in the world works together to make the world evolve. Therefore, every single behavior counts and even might change one's destiny. " ' I knew him when!' But I couldn't bring out a wicket cackle as I'd meant to do. My heart was light with Hrothgar's goodness, and leaden with grief at my own bloodthirsty ways." (pg. 48) This is in Grendel's point of view. He sees Hrothgar's behaviors, which are good, that contrast with his behaviors, which are bad. Grendel then realizes doing bad things makes him feel bad and doing good things like Hrothgar will make him feel good. This quote shows that every personal behavior matters, because depending on what you do, later, you will feel happy or guilty.
LETTER REFLECTION
By reading John Gardener's letter, I was able to experience John Gardener's point of view on Beowulf and Grendel. John Gardener's interpretation of the plot and some characters were very interesting. He thinks of things that people normally don't think of and refuses to accept obvious interpretations. For example, he doesn't think Beowulf is optimistic, which is an interpretation that many of us made. By reading his interpretations, we can find out that he is a deep thinker. In the letter, Gardener gives us a tip that shows how to become a deep thinker with good interpretations. He says that people must not think like kids. He says, " But the point is this: You've read, all of you, too quickly, too innocently--too much like children."
In this letter, I could see John Gardener's confidence. Even though everyone has a different interpretation, he confidentially presented his interpretation that he believed to be true. I have learned that I also should present my idea confidentially in the trial and not be afraid of being wrong. Also, I learned that I should think deeper before the day of the trial to be fully ready and not be like a "child."
TRIAL PREPARATION
Wealtheow
- Please introduce yourself
(introduce yourself and talk about your origin)
- Why did you leave your nation and marry Hrothgar?
(planned)
- Do you think that this action was worth taking?
(existence)
- So, you think everything matters?
- Don't you still miss your people?
(say that you are still bonded with them or something - past is relevant)
- What is your belief on this statement: "The world and everything in it is unplanned accident, existence is meaningless; the past is irrelevant; nothing matters."?
(say you don't agree and blah blah)
- Why do you think so?
(sum up everything)
Opening Statement- We've all gathered here to decide if the statement "The world and everything in it is unplanned accident, existence is meaningless; the past is irrelevant; nothing matters." is reasonable. Our team believes that this statement should be disproved. We believe that the world is not an unplanned accident, existence is not meaningless, the past is important, and everything does matter.
Firstly, we believe that the world and everything in it is planned. The Dragon says that the world is a meaningless swirl in the stream of time. However, there is a quote in Grendel that disproves this. When Grendel requests Ork to explain who the King of the Gods is, Ork said, "He is the eternal urge of desire establishing the purposes of all creatures." (pg. 132) This tells us that the King of Gods planned everything before establishing any creatures or objects. Therefore, everything in the world has a purpose and every even that happens in this world is planned.
Secondly, existence is not meaningless. In Grendel, Ork said "Ultimate wisdom, I have come to perceive, lies in the perception that the solemnity and grandeur of the universe rise through the slow process of unification in which the diversities of existence are utilized, and nothing, nothing is lost" (pg. 133) Everything in this world has a purpose, so everything is utilized to make this world evolve. Therefore, everyone's existence is important and has a meaning. Wealtheow lived to keep peace and the war did not start due to her existence, the Shaper lived to provide illusions to people and people believed in those illusions due to his existence, and Beowulf lived to become a hero and many evil creatures died due to his existence. The existence of each individual is essential to the continuous development of the world.
Thirdly, the past is relevant. The past sets up the future. According to what you did in the past, you can either be ashamed of yourself or be satisfied with yourself. For example, Grendel's mother was ashamed of her ancestral crime committed by Cain. "Guilty, she imagines, of some unremembered, perhaps ancestral crime" (pg. 11) Because of this, Grendel's mother couldn't talk. Grendel was also ashamed of the same thing. " He told of an ancient feud between two brothers which split all the world between darkness and light. And I, Grendel, was the dark side, he said in effect. The terrible race God cursed." (pg. 51) After finding out this, Grendel really started struggling to know why he exists in this world. Then, his first unintended attack of the mead hall occurs.
Lastly, everything does matter. Everything in the world works together to make the world evolve. Therefore, every single behavior counts and even might change one's destiny. " ' I knew him when!' But I couldn't bring out a wicket cackle as I'd meant to do. My heart was light with Hrothgar's goodness, and leaden with grief at my own bloodthirsty ways." (pg. 48) This is in Grendel's point of view. He sees Hrothgar's behaviors, which are good, that contrast with his behaviors, which are bad. Grendel then realizes doing bad things makes him feel bad and doing good things like Hrothgar will make him feel good. This quote shows that every personal behavior matters, because depending on what you do, later, you will feel happy or guilty.
With these proofs to support our ideas, I think it is reasonable for our team to suggest disproving the statement that is being judged.